


Powerless

by Lilypetal347



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Comics), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen, Infected Characters, Many characters appear/are mentioned but aren’t important, Not A Fix-It, Panic, Rating May Change, Spoilers, Zombots (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:35:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25589959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilypetal347/pseuds/Lilypetal347
Summary: Tails can be an extremely brave person, but after countless defeats and reaching an all time low during the Metal Virus crisis, even the strongest people can crack.*MAJOR SPOILERS FOR UP TO SONIC IDW ISSUE 29*
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	Powerless

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been seeing some people get up in arms about Tails being in a cowering position à la Sonic Forces during issue 29, but I think it’s understandable given the circumstances. And I especially don’t think it’s fair to compare this Tails moment to the one in Forces. Sure, it’s a similar position (and probably a reference). However, at the very least, the comic has way better buildup than the story of Forces. We actually see how Tails struggles throughout the Metal Virus Arc, how he fails, how he gets beaten down with barely any hope. In my eyes, that makes it believable that Tails finally breaks down at possibly the lowest point of the arc where Sonic’s plan is tentative and all his friends around him are falling.
> 
> Anyway, rant over. Long story short, I thought that Tails in issue 29 was understandable, so I wanted to throw my hat in the ring and write what I believe Tails was thinking throughout all of it. So, without further ado, enjoy!

At first, Tails thought that the plan was pretty straightforward: defeat the Deadly Six, nab the chaos emeralds from each Zeti once they were beat, and give the emeralds to Sonic so he can go super and use the warp topaz to get rid of the metal virus for good.

Short, sweet, and to the point.

Now though, while desperately flying in jagged circles, zombot versions of Cheese and Chocola in hot pursuit, Tails realizes that all plans are out the window.

Currently, the only “plan” that the surviving members of their group have is “stall time for Sonic’s plan, protect the refugees.” But they can’t last much longer against the endless hordes of zombots storming the island.

Tails zooms across the sky, spinning his twin tails as fast as possible in his mad dash from the two little zombots. Unfortunately, he has limited stamina, but the infected Chao don’t. As such, while he starts to tire out and slow down, Cheese and Chocola continue to chase him with just as much energy as when they started. 

Glancing over his shoulder, Tails sees that the two zombots are dangerously close to him now. If he slows down anymore, he’s done for. The two-tailed fox turns back around, drawing whatever strength he has left to try and put some distance between them. His heart pounds wildly in his chest, his tails ache from exertion, and his breaths come quick and panicked. The sounds of the fighting below and the little zombots flying behind him are almost drowned out by his fearful inner screams of “ _they’re catching up to you, they’re_ **_catching up to you_** _, they’ll infect you, the refugees need help, we aren’t going to make it, Sonic needs to_ **_hurry_** _, you need to_ **_move, Tails_** _!”_

The young genius feels his eyes begin to tear up, fear and panic being barely staved off by adrenaline. He chances another look backwards and immediately regrets it; the zombot chao are a mere three feet behind him now. Tails looks away and tries to zigzag his flight pattern to confuse them, but his attempts are in vain. The kit slams his watery eyes shut, feeling a few stray tears leak out. He can’t out fly or out maneuver the two zombots, and he doesn’t have anything to help defend himself without directly touching them. Oh, how he wished he had the Tornado, but it was destroyed by zombots when he was researching a cure.

“I can’t shake ‘em!” He cries out. But no one can answer him, no one can help him. As he speaks, Sonic is fighting to save the entire world while fighting off his own infection, and everyone else is fighting their own battles like himself to buy the hedgehogs some time. 

Tails opens his eyes to look down at the scene below, and it’s not any better than when he last saw it. He sees a slowly infecting Knuckles struggle against a zombot Shadow. He sees a devastated Whisper back away from a zombot Tangle. He sees a courageous Amy try to hammer back a zombot Big, only to be pushed directly into him by Eggman when it doesn’t work. He sees the distant flashes of Silver’s psychokinesis against Zavok, trying to make an opening for Sonic and Metal Sonic - _wait, where are they? -_ to grab the last emerald.

As Tails scans over all of the chaos, he doesn’t notice that he is slowing down and losing altitude until it’s too late. By the time he realizes his mistake, the zombot Cheese and Chocola are already caught up and grab onto both of his tails. The kit shrieks as he plummets to the ground. He hits the grass hard, tumbling to a stop with a groan, but thanking sweet mercy that he wasn’t very high up. 

However, that small relief is swiftly snuffed out by the feeling of an unnatural cold crawling up his tails. The little chao zombots have managed to hold onto him throughout the rough landing, and Tails can only watch in horror as the metal virus creeps over his tails, turning orange and white into sickly, metallic grey. He flinches at the coldness seeping into his namesakes, but he quickly stands up and tries to shake off the two chao. In response, they only grip his tails harder with scowls on their faces.

The realization hits Tails like a G.U.N truck; he’s infected. He wasn’t able to save the metal virus cure, he wasn’t able to save the Tornado, he wasn’t able to help the refugees, and he wasn’t able to help his friends. Now he’s infected, and he isn’t even able to save himself. 

In the past, Tails has been in some really bad situations. The two-tailed fox has had to face an army of birds attacking his island as a young child, face Eggman in a one on one battle to save Station Square, and even face Eggman again when Sonic was seemingly _dead_ because of Tails’ own gullibility. Those were all terrible circumstances, but at the very least, he had a way to stand up and fight: a skill or an invention or an exploit that helped him win the day. 

Right now, there isn’t any trick he can pull or invention he can use. 

Right now, he can’t do _anything._

Hearing a shout come from not far behind him, Tails turns around to see Knuckles on his last legs. The guardian appears to be talking to himself, trying to keep fighting against his infection. But to Tails’ dismay, Knuckles loses the fight. He drops the fist that the zombot Shadow had caught, and he slumps over briefly. Then together, zombot Shadow and the fully infected Knuckles set their sights on Tails, slowly walking towards him to continue the spread.

Somewhere along the line, Tails had started to shake. Seeing the two much stronger zombots coming towards him and the already fast spreading virus on his tails, a cold fear gripped his body like the metal virus itself. 

Finally, Tails’ already frayed mental holds snap.

The young fox crouches down and cradles his head in his hands, cowering. In the back of his mind, the braver part of him scoffs at his actions, remembering a time not long ago when he had taken a similar position. But the younger part, the part that proves he’s still a kid no matter how much he despises it, can’t bring itself to do anything else. 

Tails shivers, feeling the metal virus cover most of his tails by now. Not far away, he hears the zombot Knuckles and Shadow draw ever closer. His fingers grip the sides of his head tighter, almost to the point of hurting. He clenches his eyes closed, not wanting to see the inevitable.

The only thing Tails has left to hold onto is the thought that Sonic still has a plan. His big brother is still fighting to save everyone alongside Silver and Metal. The three of them were their last hope.

“Sonic...” Tails whimpers. “... _Please_ …”

_We can’t take much more of this._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is my first time writing for the Sonic series, so how did I do? Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!


End file.
